Shoe form with stiffening flange



March 27, 1951 l. GOODFELLOW ETAL 2,546,391 SHOE Fonu WITH STIFFENING FLANGE Filed May 29, 1948 Inventors Isaac Good/allow William J DeWL'tz Patented Mar. 27, 1951 SHOE FORM WITH STIFFENING FLANGE Isaac Goodfellow and William J. De Witt, Au-

burn, N. Y., assignors to Shoe Form 00. Inc., Auburn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May '29, 1948, Serial No. 29,965

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to hollow shoe forms and is illustrated as embodied in a shoe form, of plastic or other material, formed from a sheet or molded, which form may if desired be utilized as a display form.

It is well recognized in the making of hollow shoe forms of sheet material particularly that satisfactory results may be secured by using a thinner or more resilient material than would otherwise be needed if a suitable way can be found for stiflening the form at such places as maybe needed. The essential shape of such forms is largely determined by their bottom corner contour and their ability to hold in treed condition the shoes in which they are inserted depends very largely upon the characteristics of the bottom flange formed during manufacture, as the result of, for example, wrapping sheet material around the top of a suitable last and then turning the margins of the sheet inwardly over the bottom surface of that last. Furthermore, when such forms are used in shoes which are on display in store windows they are subjected to an intense heat from the sun and they are frequently in closed compartments where there is little ventilation. Then there is a tendency for the bottom flanges to spring back to original condition and thus to move toward the plane, of the material forming the top portion.

Accordingly, an important object of the invention is to provide an improved construction in which the bottom flange of such a form is strengthened.

This object is attained, in accordance with a feature of the invention, by making only the outer margin of such a flange flat in conformance with the normal contour of the bottom of a last and in bending inwardly and upwardly the inner portion of this flange to join it to a flat inner portion at a different level. One convenient way of forming such a flange is to mold the material over a last, the bottom portion of which is provided with a shallow recess spaced from the edge thereof. This recess may extend over only the toe portion of the last or be carried back the full length thereof.

These and other features of the invention will best be understood from a consideration of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is an angular view of an inverted form having our improved construction;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the ball portion of the form, taken on the line II --II of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line III-III of Fig. 1 through the cover and the top of the form.

The invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a form HI made of plastic material and. is shown as being of ankle height with the heel portion formed by overlapping the margins I2 of the sheet. In the forepart [4, where the material has been carried over the top of the last and then bent inwardly around a peripheral corner to form a bottom flange 15, it will be noted that the flange has an outer'marginal portion I6 which is substantially flat and which is shown as extending around the forepart from ball line to ball line. Within this flat marginal portion I6, the flange curves inwardly within the corner or ridge [8 to join it to an inner substantially flat marginal portion 2a which lies at a higher level within the normal bottom surface of the form.

This construction, by reason of the corner l8 which is formed by bending inwardly the intermediate band connecting the marginal portions l 6 and 25, is substantially stifier than would be a flat bottom flange and enables the use of lighter materials if desired. At the same time it provides a more effective construction for givingto the shoe in which it is inserted the lines provided by the original last on which the shoe was made. If desired the inner margins 29 may be interconnected by means of an adjustable cross brace 22 having a, finger piece 24. This brace, riveted at its ends to the opposite incurved portions, may be of any suitable construction such as that shown in Letters Patent of the United States 2,047,673, granted July 14, 1936, upon our application. Bosses 28, 30 of limited area are formed in the flanges and these raise the cross brace 22 above the level of said flanges and make adjustment thereof easier.

It will be understood that one convenient way of embodying this construction in forms, which are shaped over lasts, will be to relieve the mid portion of the bottom of the last in the forepart thereof so as to provide a slight recess, spaced from the edges of the forepart, and into which the moldable material may be pressed so as to give both the flat outer margin l5 and the incurved band connecting it to the flat inner margin 2c. The recess may be continued back toward the heel end of the last whereupon the bottom flange through the shank portion and the heel portion of the form is curved inwardly as at 25.

The top or ankle portion of the form In is closed by a cover 32 which both insures a finished appearance of the form and adds considerably to its strength. To this end the cover has inner and outer flanges 34, 36, joined by a semi-circular bead 38, which cover may be preformed by dies acting on sheet material or it may be cast in molds. It will be noted that these flanges are normal to the central portion of the cover and are spaced to fit the margin of the upper sides of the form, the outer flange 36 being somewhat longer than the inner 34. Before the cover is applied to the form it is rendered adhesive either by the application of a suitable solvent or a cement 4B.

Inasmuch as the upper portion of the form is attached to both the inner and outer flanges of the cover there is no danger that pressure upon the sides of the form will break the bond between the two. It will be noted, furthermore, that the cover itself forms a reinforcement between the sides of the upper portion of the form and therefore gives considerable added strength. No finishing is required on the outer surf-ace of the cover because it has not been subjected to any trimming or cement removing operations as was the case when a sheet of flat material was applied to the top edge of the form to serve as a cover.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe form shaped to support the upper of the shoe and having a narrow bottom flange around the forepart thereof, said flange being reinforced by a ridge separating an outer flat portion and an inner flat portion lying at a different level.

2. A shoe form bent to support the upper of the shoe and having a narrow bottom flange around the forepart thereof, said flange being reinforced by an upcurved intermediate portion coextensive with the forepart of the form, said intermediate portion joining an outer flat portion and a flat inner portion, opposite inner flanged portions being held apart by a cross brace.

3. A hollow display form extending through the whole length of the shoe and overlapped at the heel end thereof, said form having an inturned bottom flange around the margin of the form, said bottom flange having a flat outer margin joined to a flat inner margin by an inturned intermediate band defining a ridge extending substantially parallel to the corner between the top and bottom portions of the form, and a cross brace interconnecting the forepart flanges.

ISAAC GOODFELLOW. WILLIAM J. DE WITT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,740,157 De Witt Dec. 17, 1929 1,889,887 De Witt Dec. 6, 1932 2,106,497 De Witt Jan. 25, 1938 2,144,381 Kuster Jan. 17, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 587,579 France Jan. 20, 1925 

